Kristi McDuffie’s English 101 Course Plan Rationale kmcduff@ilstu.edu The course that I have designed closely follows the genre studies approach that is the pedagogical foundation of Writing Program courses at ISU. This course is split into two primary units: the academic genre of the literature review and the multimodal genre of the Public Service Announcement (PSA). For each unit, the first project is a genre analysis and the second project is composing in that genre. The learning outcomes these project focus on are Identifying Genres, Creating Content, Organizing Information in Multiple Genres, Technology/Media (especially the PSA creation), Flexible Research Skills (especially the Literature Review creation), and Using Citation Formats and Citing Source Material in Multiple Genres (especially the Literature Review creation). Here are the benefits of this approach: 1. Covers a majority of the learning outcomes for English 101. The remaining learning outcomes could

be addressed in smaller activities in or outside of class. 2. Approaches a balanced approach of exploring an academic genre and a non-academic genre. 3. Focusing on particular genres allows the instructor to provide more guidance for students rather than

different students working simultaneously in multiple genres. 4. Students have topic choice because they can choose the subject of both the literature review and the

PSA. 5. The literature review is often a starting point for collecting and synthesizing research in many

academic situations (although these situations may not call this type of activity a literature review). It thus allows students to learn about, critique, and compose in an academic genre that also does not require them to be an expert in their chosen subject area.

6. The PSA engages students in a multimodal genre. 7. I have included some materials to demonstrate these genres, although there are also activities that

require students to collect examples of the genres. Here are some drawbacks to this approach: 1. Students do not have choice about the genre they are working in. I have made this decision based on

previous experience where students worked in multiple genres and I had limited ability to help them work with these genres; engaging with the same genre allows me to use class time more productively for discussing that genre, looking at examples together, and so forth. Students still have a lot of choice in that they can choose their own topics for both genres I have chosen. Furthermore, students will still need to choose a purpose and audience for their projects, so rhetorical genre decisions are still incredibly important.

2. There are only two units for this course plan (approximately 7-8 weeks each). Some instructors may prefer to spend less time on a particular unit and cover more genres. I have chosen to focus on two units in order to investigate these genres in more depth and allow for detailed genre analysis and composition. However, instructors could shorten these units if they wanted to include literature reviews or PSAs but in a shorter time frame.

Included in this course plan are this Course Rationale, the English 101 Syllabus, the Literature Review assignment sheet with detailed calendar, the Public Service Announcement Assignment Sheet with detailed calendar, and supporting materials such as readings and supplementary course assignments. Supplementary course activities include language awareness, critical genre awareness, and global genre awareness.

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English 101: Composition as Critical Inquiry Course Syllabus

Section 16: MWF 10-10:50am STV 250J Section 19: MWF 11-11:50am STV 250A

Kristi McDuffie, STV 301D, kmcduff@ilstu.edu

Office hours: W 12:30-2:30, F 12:30-1:30 and by appointment

Course Description: Writing instructors often struggle to teach students skills that will readily transfer to other writing situations in their lives, both within and outside academia. A genre studies approach to teaching writing tries to address this concern by teaching students how to adjust to different writing situations they encounter, rather than trying to teach students specific writing skills that have limited use in particular situations. Thus, this course focuses on teaching students how to think, analyze, and compose when confronted with a new genre. Specifically, we will investigate what a genre is, identify genres based on similar generic features, analyze the motivations and values inherent in the genres, and compose in both written and multimodal genres. Research, in a number of forms, is vital to this investigation of genre and will thus be an important component of this course. Finally, this course is informed by writing process ideas including brainstorming, writing to learn and think, drafting, peer review, and revision. Learning Outcomes: 1. Identifying Genres:

• Students should be able to identify the features of multiple genres, and articulate (through verbal or written communication) the differences that separate these genres (this ability to include both academic and nonacademic genres).

• Students should be able to document (through verbal or written communication) how the features of a particular genre work to shape the genre’s content, style, and structure through visual, conceptual, stylistic constraints, as well as through the expectations of the reader/user.

• Students should be able to demonstrate (through verbal or written communication) how choices in their own writing either conform (or don’t) to the established features of the genre in which they are working.

• Students should be able to compare how the features of different genres shape content (and knowledge making) in different ways.

2. Creating Content: • Students should be able to create content in multiple genres. • Students should be able to employ cognitive/conceptual skills related to argument and analysis in

their textual productions, and be able to identify the use of these strategies in their own productions.

• Students should be able to employ a range of other skills (rhetorical strategies, mechanics, style, etc.) and defend these choices as thoughtful response to specific writing and genre situations.

3. Organizing Information in Multiple Genres: • Students should be able to identify the organizational structures that govern different kinds of

writing genres.

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4. Technology/Media: • Students should be able to identify the technologies (print or digital) and tools necessary to

produce a text in a given genre. • Students should be able to decide on and use appropriate digital and print technologies to produce

a genre (based on the genre’s required features). • Students should be able to demonstrate (through written or verbal communication) how a given

text is affected by the use of different technologies or media (in terms of its conception, production, and distribution, as well as the potential ways the text may be taken up by users).

5. The Trajectories of Literate Activity: • Students should be able to trace the trajectories of a text (the path a text takes in its production,

distribution, and use) in reference to the context and history that shape a genre or a writing situation in a particular ways. This includes the way a particular instance of text is shaped by interactions with people, materials, and technologies; the social and cultural forces that shape how a genre is understood and identified; and the potential uses (both intended and unintended) that reader/users may devise for the text and its content.

6. Flexible Research Skills: • Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of how to find a variety of source materials for

research purposes. This should include using digital databases, print material, and archival resources.

• Students should demonstrate an awareness of the various methods that can be used to collect data (e.g., experiment, observation, various kinds of survey, and interview methods).

7. Using Citation Formats and Citing Source Material in Multiple Genres: • Students should be able to cite sources correctly according to one or more academic citation

formats (MLA, APA, CBE, Chicago Manual of Style). • Students should be able to integrate source material into their written projects in ways appropriate

to the projects’ genre(s).2 This includes the ability to cite material correctly, to quote and paraphrase source material, and to effectively integrate source material to support an argument, persuasive goal, or analysis.

• Students should be able to investigate and demonstrate how different methods of citing source material (including academic and non-academic attribution) are shaped by the goals and intentions embedded in the citation style.

8. Grammatical Usage and Sentence Structure: • Students should be able to identify how specific genres are defined, in part through the use of

sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary. • Students should demonstrate the ability to make informed decisions regarding the appropriate

sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary in their own writing (based on an assessment of the various genre features required in a particular writing situation).

• Students should be able to identify the match between an example of a genre that they’ve produced and a representative example of that same genre (in terms of grammar, usage, and style).

• Students should be able to identify in their own writing projects the aspects of sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary which require improvement, and demonstrate through multiple revisions the ability to address these problem areas.

9. Cultural & Social Contexts: • Students should be able to identify cultural, political and social interactions that shape or

influence how writing happens in a particular genre or situation. These might be local interactions within a particular group that specifically constrain how a particular text is produced, or interactions that take place at a national or international level and impact texts and genres more generally.

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Course Materials: The Grassroots Writing Research Journal A course management system, to be determined. Access to Microsoft Word or a word processing software that can be saved as .doc or

.docx file extensions. Download the Microsoft patch to open .docx files in old versions of Word (see HelpDesk for details).

USB/flash/thumb drive to take work to and from class. Always save work in more than one location since technological problems do happen!

Printing is required—you will need a printer or money on your Redbird Card (card can be loaded at Milner library or Bone Student Center)

Attendance: Attending class is important for your success in this course. Beginning with the fourth absence, your final letter grade will be lowered by 1/3 letter grade per absence and you may not be able to make up work missed during class. Students should notify the instructor about their absence as far in advance as possible, and it is always the student’s responsibility to inquire about making up work. Since it is disruptive for students to come into class late, three tardies add up to one absence. Participation: This classroom is a learning community, and all students must participate in order for it to function as one. Participation includes speaking during class discussion and being actively involved in all class activities. Keep cell phones off and put away, do not have side conversations during class time, and do not use computers for unrelated activities. Overview of Semester: The semester is divided into two primary units, with multiple projects within each unit. Here is an overview, subject to change:

Project Points Unit 1 – the Public Service Announcement

Genre Analysis of Public Service Announcements 40 Public Service Announcement Video 40 Writing Process and Small Assignments 20

Unit 2 – the Literature Review Genre Analysis of Literature Reviews 40 Literature Review 40 Writing Process and Small Assignments 20

Total 200 The grading scale for the final course grade is as follows:

92-100 = A 82-91 = B 72-81 = C 62-71 = D Below 62 = F Late work: Late work is not accepted. Contact me immediately with any problems or requests for extensions, as failing to turn in large assignments on time could result in failing the course.

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Plagiarism: ISU’s Code of Conduct and Academic Dishonesty is excerpted below:

Students are expected to be honest in all academic work. A student’s placement of his or her name on any academic exercise shall be regarded as assurance that the work is the result of the student’s own thought, effort, and study. Violations include but are not limited to: b) taking any action with intent to deceive the person in charge as to the student’s

acting without honesty to complete an assignment, such as falsifying data or sources, providing false information, etc.

d) plagiarizing. For the purpose of this policy, plagiarism is the unacknowledged appropriation of another’s work, words, or ideas in any themes, outlines, papers, reports, speeches, or other academic work. Students must ascertain from the instructor in each course the appropriate means of documentation.

e) submitting the same paper for more than one University course without the prior approval of the instructors.

Note that plagiarism includes not only explicit acts of using someone else’s work, but also misquoting, under-quoting, or inaccurately quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing someone else’s work. It also includes using a previously written paper or research as original work in this class. Plagiarism will be reported to the Community Rights and Responsibilities Office. Penalties include failing the assignment and failing the course. Technology: This course requires technology as we meet in a computer classroom and use the computers to compose and save files. Save your files often (.doc or .docx format) and in multiple locations (personal computer, email, USB drive, etc.). Technological problems that occur at the last minute will not excuse you from an assignment that is due (so contact me immediately about any problems). Submit work ahead of the due date so that you have time to work through any technical problems that often occur during submission. Being out of town and not having access to your computer or the internet is not an excuse for missing or late assignments. Accommodations: Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 309-438-5853 (voice) or 309-438-8620 (TTY) as soon as possible. Julia N. Visor Academic Center: Free outside writing assistance can be found at the Visor center, which offers tutoring in almost all subjects. Call 309-438-7100 to make an appointment or visit http://ucollege.illinoisstate.edu/about/visor/ for more information. The Grassroots Writing Research Journal: The textbook for this course is a collection of work written by students. The work you will do for this course will be appropriate for this textbook, so consider submitting your work for potential publication. In addition to a small stipend, this publication is great for resumes!

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First day activity to introduce genre Kristi McDuffie, original credit to Brooklynn Lehner Bring a bag full of different types of texts to class on the first day and show them like a show-and-tell. Ask students to write down what the items are but not to discuss them aloud. I recommend bringing 8-10 items, such as a newspaper, a gossip magazine, a romance novel, a math textbook, a graphic novel, a recipe, directions for a washing machine, a thank you card, and so forth. Then after students have identified the items, engage in a discussion about how they knew what those items were. Encourage students to recognize the “obvious” genre conventions, such as the type of image on the cover of a romance novel, the glossy pictures of the magazine, and the small black type on white paper for a washing machine manual. Discuss the shape, size, format, color, graphics, and language of the various items. This activity is an interactive way to get students to start thinking about the “invisible” aspects of genre, and can lead to a discussion about the more in-depth way we will be looking at other genres in the class.

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Composing In and About an Academic Genre: The Literature Review

English 101, Kristi McDuffie Overview and Purpose The purpose of this project is to analyze and compose in an academic genre: the Literature Review. The Literature Review is a synthesis of existing published research on a specific topic; the review often includes an articulation of a gap in that research that explains what research is missing and should be conducted in the future. This assignment will help meet virtually all of the learning outcomes for this course, including identifying and composing in different genres and employing research. Project Details There are two main components to the project, with writing process materials due along the way: Genre Analysis of Literature Review You will conduct an analysis of the genre of the Literature Review. We will read some materials together as a class, but your analysis will focus on reviews in a particular academic field that you choose. I recommend that you choose to investigate a field that you are considering going into. Find at least three (3) reviews published in peer-reviewed academic journals in your designated field. I anticipate that this will take approximately 6-8 pages to include the following in detail:

a brief description of each article, including name of the article, author, date published, name of the journal, topic of the article, length, and citation style;

a brief description of the journal(s), including specific field and audience; a summary of the content and findings of each article; a description of the generic conventions that all texts share and generic conventions that

are dissimilar; an analysis of the purpose of those generic conventions; a critique of the effectiveness of the specific Literature Reviews based on the generic

conventions you identified; include an analysis of who the genre includes and excludes and what cultural values are implied by the genre;

recommendations for anyone wishing to write a Literature Review. Cite the sources in MLA or APA style (or another style approved by me).

Composition of a Literature Review The second part of this project is to create your own Literature Review. Choose a topic in a narrow field and find at least six (6) peer-reviewed journal articles on that topic. The more narrow the topic, the better, although your topic will necessarily be guided by available research and is subject to approval by me. Write the literature review with the generic features you identified in mind. As a class, we will come up with a list of certain generic features we agree should be included. Although you may choose to use some features and not others, be prepared to discuss why you made certain decisions. Cite the sources in MLA or APA style (or another style approved by me).

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When you submit the final version, you will also submit an analysis memo or podcast, which means that you can submit this in writing or record yourself narrating the answer to these questions:

Narrate the steps that you took to complete the project, including but not limited to: How did you decide on your topic? What research did you conduct? Describe your drafting process. What was easy and difficult about this project? What would you do differently?

Explain which components of your Literature Review reflect the generic conventions you identified in the genre analysis, which components do not, and why you make those decisions. Evaluate the effectiveness of your review based on your audience and purpose, including a critique of who the work includes and excludes and what cultural values are implied by your work.

Assessment Your grade will be composed of the following components:

Component Points Genre Analysis 40 Literature Review and Analysis Memo

40

Writing Process Components 20 The projects will be assessed based on the following:

Genre Analysis Completeness All parts have been completed, including description, analysis, and

critique of at least three literature reviews. Critical engagement Paper demonstrates a thoughtful and detailed response to the goals

and questions of the assignment. Comprehension Paper demonstrates an awareness of the materials we have discussed

in class regarding rhetorical genre awareness. Composition Paper is organized in a logical fashion with solid paragraph unity,

transitions, and few grammatical/proofreading errors.

Literature Review and Analysis Memo/Podcast Completeness Completion of a Literature Review that includes at least six (6)

scholarly journal articles on a particular, approved topic; completion of an analysis memo or podcast that answers the required questions.

Critical engagement Paper demonstrates a thoughtful and detailed response to the goals and questions of the assignment.

Comprehension Paper demonstrates an awareness of the materials we have discussed in class regarding rhetorical genre awareness.

Composition Paper is organized in a logical fashion with solid paragraph unity, transitions, and few grammatical/proofreading errors.

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Schedule* *All “posts” indicates that the work will be posted, uploaded, or submitted via Blackboard, our course management system.

Week In-class activities Homework 1 Course introduction; introduction to

genre; introduction to genre analysis Read TBD articles from the Grassroots Writing Research Journal about genre analysis and submit a response via Blackboard (BB)

2 Discuss scholarly journal articles; discuss research methods and citation practices, including online research

Practice researching scholarly journal articles outside of class by finding certain articles and uploading them to BB; Practice writing citations and submit via BB

3 Discuss the readings; discuss the examples that you found and, as a class or in small groups, create a list of generic conventions of literature reviews

Read the three literature review readings; find a literature review in any field and post the article and a response on BB

4 Continue discussion of sample literature reviews; discuss the genre of the genre analysis; in-class work time

Draft genre analysis of literature review

5 Peer review genre analysis; Discuss revising and proofreading

Revise and submit final genre analysis; brainstorm topic choice for literature review

6 Revisit research methods; revisit agreed-upon list of genre conventions of literature reviews; research time in-class

Post topic choice for approval; post articles you find that you will use for your literature review

7 In-class work time and time for individual questions; Discuss language awareness

BB post about language awareness; Draft literature review

8 Peer review literature review; discuss analysis memo

Revise and submit final literature review; draft and submit analysis memo

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Composing In and About a Multimodal Genre: The Public Service Announcement

English 101, Kristi McDuffie Overview and Purpose The purpose of this project is to analyze and compose in a multimodal genre: the Public Service Announcement (PSA) video. This assignment will help meet virtually all of the learning outcomes for this course, including identifying and composing in different genres using different technologies and employing research. See the Syllabus for a detailed list. The multimodal project in particular will also help us learn additional literacies and use those literacies to reach a broader audience. Technology considerations There are a number of technologies that you could use to compose this project. For the written analysis, you will use Microsoft Word or a similar text-editing program. For the multimodal composition, you will need the ability to record video (using Smartphones, built-in computer video cameras, a video recorder, or you can arrange to borrow my Flip video recorder), the ability to edit video (IMovie comes on all Macs and Windows Movie Maker comes on all PCs), and other technologies as you deem appropriate. Other technologies may include but are not limited to cameras, photo-editing software (Photoshop, Gimp) audio recording software (Audacity), voice recorders, and screencapturing software (Camtasia, CamStudio). When pulling materials from the web, such as images, video, and sound, consider issues of Fair Use. I recommend pulling materials from Creative Commons or sites that explicitly say “free stock photos” or something to that effect to avoid copyright issues; Freeplay Music has free music. Publication Venue We will use a SchoolTube channel to upload all of our videos so that they are in one central place. I hope that you will seek a venue for your work beyond that and consider allowing the writing program to use your work for next year’s textbook or consider submitting your work to the undergraduate online journal Xchanges, Jump (The Journal for Undergraduate Multimedia Projects), the undergraduate research symposium(s) at ISU, or, best of all, one of the many, many PSA competitions out there. Project Details There are two main components to the project, with writing process materials due along the way: Genre Analysis of PSA You will conduct an analysis of the genre of the Public Service Announcement. Specifically, locate and analyze at least four (4) separate video PSAs about any range of topics. I anticipate that this will take approximately 6-8 pages to include the following in detail:

a brief description of the texts so that the reader can understand them; a description of the generic conventions that all texts share and generic conventions that

are dissimilar (include descriptions of audience, place of publication, purpose, organization, and multimodal components employed);

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an analysis of the purpose of those generic conventions; an critique of the purpose, audience, and effectiveness of the specific PSAs (informed by

the generic conventions you identified); include an analysis of who the genre includes and excludes and what cultural values are implied by the genre;

recommendations for anyone wishing to create a PSA.

Composition of PSA The second part of this project is to create your own PSA in the form of a 2-4 minute video. You will choose the topic/purpose of your PSA, subject to approval by me. Your PSA must be informed by research (we will discuss particular research methods in class) and all sources must be cited at the end of the video. When you submit the final version, you will also submit an analysis memo or podcast, which means that you can submit this in writing or record yourself narrating the answer to these questions:

Narrate the steps that you took to complete the project, including but not limited to: How did you decide on your topic? What research did you conduct? What multimodal elements did you employ? In what order did you put together the video? What was easy and difficult about this project? What would you do differently?

Explain which components of your PSA reflect the generic conventions you identified in the genre analysis, which components do not, and why you made those decisions. Evaluate the effectiveness of your PSA based on your audience, purpose, and utilization of multimodal components, including a critique of who the work includes and excludes and what cultural values are implied by your work.

Assessment Your grade will be composed of the following components:

Component Points Genre Analysis 40 PSA and Analysis Memo 40 Writing Process Components 20

The projects will be assessed based on the following:

Genre Analysis Completeness All parts have been completed, including description, analysis, and

critique of at least four PSAs. Critical engagement Paper demonstrates a thoughtful and detailed response to the goals

and questions of the assignment. Comprehension Paper demonstrates an awareness of the materials we have discussed

in class regarding rhetorical genre awareness. Composition Paper is organized in a logical fashion with solid paragraph unity,

transitions, and few grammatical/proofreading errors.

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PSA and Analysis Memo/Podcast Completeness Completion of a 2-4 minute video in the genre of a Public Service

Announcement; completion of an analysis memo or podcast that answers the required questions.

Critical engagement Paper demonstrates a thoughtful and detailed response to the goals and questions of the assignment, including utilization of multimodal components.

Comprehension Paper demonstrates an awareness of the materials we have discussed in class regarding rhetorical genre awareness and multimodal composition.

Composition Video is organized in a logical fashion and thoughtfully utilizes the multimodal components of layout, organization, timing, framing, color, image, and sound.

Schedule* *All “posts” indicates that the work will be posted, uploaded, or submitted via Blackboard, our course management system.

Week In-class activities Homework 9 Introduce the assignment; watch

PSAs and discuss Blood Donation Texting and driving Brain on Drugs

Find three PSAs on your own and post links and an analytical response on Blackboard (BB)

10 Discuss the examples that everyone found and create a list of generic conventions

Choose which PSAs you will analyze ad post to BB; begin drafting genre analysis

11 Discuss and work on genre analysis in class; Discuss critical genre awareness and global genre awareness

Draft genre analysis; submit response to critical genre awareness on BB

12 Peer review genre analysis; discuss multimodal composing, including fair use concerns and research methods

Revise and submit final Genre Analysis; Brainstorm potential topics for PSA

13 Video editing tutorial and practice

Post topic proposal for approval; research/plan/outline PSA

14 Work on PSAs in class and individual problem solving and questions

Draft PSAs

15 Present drafted PSAs in class for group feedback

Revise PSAs; draft/record analysis memo

16 Upload final PSA to SchoolTube Channel and submit analysis memo

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Genre teaching can be formulaic and constraining, if genres are taught as forms without social or cultural meaning (Devitt337).

Genres are inherently ideological, and to reproduce a genre is to reproduce that ideology (Devitt 339).

Genres have effects on people, and we do not always take those effects into consideration.

It is important to address ideology within genre to encourage critical thinking about genre... Conscious awareness of the ideologies is the key to avoid blind reproduction of those ideologies (Devitt 343).

Furthermore, by understanding norms and ideologies of the genre, we can gain power of changing those genres or maneuvering within those genres (Devitt 343).

Three readings – one long (focus on the critique section), two very short

In small groups, answer the following questions: Why is PowerPoint the “standard” presentation

technology in specific contexts, such as your university lectures? Why is PowerPoint the “standard” presentation

technology for so many situations (class lectures, class presentations, business presentations, etc.)?

Is it truly the best tool for all of these situations? Why or why not? What are some alternatives?

Who has access to the genre? Is anyone restricted access due to technology requirements? Is anyone restricted access due to disability concerns?

What cultural values are inherent in the genre the way it is used?

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1. Someone who doesn’t speak “proper” or “standard” English is not speaking correctly. T/F

2. “A person has a right to their own language” is a grammatically correct sentence. T/F

3. Dialect is the same thing as slang. T/F4. I have an accent. T/F5. People who speak with a Southern accent are

uneducated. T/F6. The English language is in serious decline due to instant

messaging and texting. T/F7. English is the official language of the United States. T/F8. English is a romance language. T/F9. All academic writing is the same, whether you write for

English, Biology, or Psychology. T/F10. The word you in speech and writing always addresses the

speaker/hearer. T/F

A standard dialect is impossible to define, but is usually characterized by the LACK of stigmatized features (such as ain’t, double negation, etc).

Standard Written English is more plausible, but no one writes the way they speak.

“Any variety of language that is shared by a group of speakers” (Wolfram and Schilling-Estes 2).

“Everyone speaks a dialect, and a uniform language is an impossibility” (Lippi-Green 293).

Dialect is different from slang, jargon, and register. Dialect is heavily linked to region, and also race and

ethnicity. We may speak in a number of different dialects

depending on the situation. Examples include African American English, Chicano

English, Southern English, Pennsylvania Dutch, and Brooklynese.

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No dialects are better than others—we judge dialects based on the race, national origin, region, ethnicity, religion, and class of the speaker› “People will often transfer to a language or dialect

their opinions of the people whose language or dialect it is” (Bauer and Trudgill 12)

“The speech of a socially subordinate group will always be interpreted as inadequate by comparison with the socially dominant group” (Bauer and Trudgill 104).› The language of social dominance in the US is

“primarily white, upper-middle class, and middle American” (294).

Slang – innovative word coinage, mostly ephemeral and associated with young people

Jargon – the language of a profession or discipline, such as medical or legal terminology

Argot – the language of the underbelly (crime, black market)

Register – level of formality

English is a Germanic language. It comes from Old Norse and Old English and is similar to contemporary Dutch and German.

There is no linguistic reason based on vocabulary, syntax, morphology, etymology, etc. that makes English any better than any other language.

Depending on the English language learner’s native language, English can be quite difficult to learn. Words are often not spelled phonetically (like they

sound). Stoopid, langwidge, nite Rules are inconsistent--add “s” for plural, but what

about “deer”?

Language change is inevitable (American English evolved from British English, which evolved from Old English, and so forth).

English has always borrowed heavily from other languages.

Young adults tend to be at the forefront of coining new words and other linguistic innovations.

People used to say that writing itself (and then the printing press) would deteriorate human’s ability to communicate. Now, people say that about technology.

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People have said that English is going to be lost to the languages of other immigrant groups many times over (Italians, Germans).

Most families that immigrate lose their language by the third generation (grandchildren are often not literate in the mother tongue).

Languages are difficult for adults to learn. In contrast, children tend to adapt quickly to the language of their peer group.

Bilingual education and ESL programs are thus highly contested issues in education.

English is not the national language of the US (no language is declared). Some countries, like France, do have a national language, and it is extremely regulated. Some localities do have a declared language.

The English Only movement (that English should be declared the official language of the US) seems to be largely about a fear of immigration.

We are one of the few countries where being bilingual seems to be a deficit, rather than a benefit, although that conception is highly linked to socio-economic status.

In the 18th century, people began to prescribe the way that people should speak and write.

Prescriptive versus descriptive debate. Examples of “bad” grammar:

› Split infinitives (To boldly go where no man has gone before –Star Trek)

› Ending a sentence with a preposition (Where are you coming from?)

› Beginning a sentence with and or but (And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light -Genesis 1:3)

› Using passive voice (Pfc. Bradley Manning, 22, has been charged by the U.S. military…-CNN.com)

Language is an important part of the genre of a text. We make language choices the same way you make choices about format, content, and so forth.

Different academic disciplines have their own jargon – all academic writing is not the same.

This idea extends into workplaces and life writing.

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GLOBAL GENRE AWARENESS

CULTURAL SITUATEDNESS

Other cultures have different ways of thinking and writing – we cannot assume that our norms apply to everyone

This applies to other cultures within the United States, including multilingual and multidialectal speakers, in addition to other countries

This issue is often gendered Intercultural rhetoric (or contrastive rhetoric) is a

line of inquiry in rhetoric and second language learning that looks at cultural variation in writing studies and more

ACADEMIC WRITING (SOURCE: CASANAVE 2004)

Academic writing in English is often considered linear, direct, logical, individualistic, and writer-focused Associated with a masculine tradition

Japanese is described as non-linear, indirect, and reader-focused

Chinese has an infamous eight-legged essay like our four-paragraph essay

French and German organization is different in that paragraphs are focused on clusters of information rather than organized by topic sentences that outline an argument

These are just stereotypes though – there is a lot of variation in real life and in different situations! Plus, differences are often socially constructed rather than essential.

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO GENRE?

We should recognize, especially considering our work in language and critical genre awareness, that genres are culturally specific

Genres are contextualized based on their locations

Many of our genre conventions are based on Anglo, Western logic and assumptions

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Research Sources Source: Janice Walker’s website

Citation tips Citing an interview

http://www.ehow.com/how_5061239_cite‐personal‐interview.html

Citing websites on the Works Cited page http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/

Write down as much information as you can when you know you will use a source! It’s much easier to take better notes now than to try to find everything later when you are making your Works Cited page.

Author, name of article, name of website, date posted (or last date updated), URL, and date of access.  

Citation tipsCiting websites in‐text (from Purdue’s OWL) When creating in‐text citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, 

remember that your citation must reference the source in your Works Cited. Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for 

electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers, but often, these sorts of entries do not require any sort of parenthetical citation at all. For electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines: Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that 

corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).

You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers based on your Web browser’s print preview function.

Unless you must list the website name in the signal phrase in order to get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in‐text. Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes, for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.

See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ for examples.

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Tips for Effective Web Searches Try, try, and try again! 

Research, even online research (and maybe especially online research) is simply time consuming. Expect to spend HOURS performing research.

Search with nouns  Searching with sentences or questions asks search engines to search for all of the words, and you don’t want prepositions cluttering up your search!

If you get too many results, add words to narrow the search. If you get too few results, try a more general word.

Try other words that mean the same thing, such as United States, US, USA, or North America.  

Source: Findingdulcinea.com

Tips for Effective Web Searches Try different search engines besides Google. (video: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=89093&videoChannel=6)

Go beyond the first page of results. 

There are many, many pages with good information. “Search engine optimization” is when companies manipulate their sites to appear at the top of a search.

Garbage in, garbage out

The information on a website is only as good as the website. See upcoming web site credibility information. 

Website Credibility Source: Findingdulcinea.comInsights for Web Site CredibilityIf you're using information for a lighthearted e‐mail, the source isn't that important. If you're conducting research for a professional report, you had better be sure your information is legitimate. Checking sources may sound arduous, but there are a few crucial questions that can help:

Who is the author(s)? What are their credentials? Look at the domain (the last part of the Web address, for example: .com, .org or .edu). This generally tells you what kind of site you're using: .ac and .edu sites are regulated educational sites; .com and .biz sites are for commercial purposes; and .gov sites are U.S. government sites. Other Web address endings can indicate the country of origin of the site. Some domains are sponsored and therefore heavily regulated (.jobs, .museum and .travel are a few examples), while others are not sponsored. Learn more about top‐level domains (TLDs). 

Website Credibility Source: Findingdulcinea.comWho is making the information available? How is the site being funded? Are they trying to sell you something? Does the site appear to have any social or political biases? The “About Us” section of a site is a good place to start but it shouldn’t be the end of your research. One way to look for additional company or author information is to try the name in a search engine. For an author, try searching the name along with key subject words to check for any additional work or credentials. 

When was the information first published? Has it been updated recently? Many Web pages indicate when they were created and last revised. Check the bottom of the page for a copyright date or look for a date near the byline of an article. Without a date, the timeliness of the information is difficult to evaluate.

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Activity Find a website that you think you will use for your project. Assess the credibility of that website in a Blackboard post and speak to the concerns of website credibility we discussed. 

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Revising, Editing, Proofreading Revising is  a large part of the revising process. Start revising your own work now – you can do a lot without waiting for feedback from me. Turn in the best work you possibly can at all levels. Be sure to edit, proofread, and spellcheck before submitting any work. 

My feedback on your work will be primarily focused on larger concerns, such as content, development, organization, and so forth. I will not edit your work; however, I will note any ongoing issues to focus on as you revise and in your next assignments. 

The following information comes from the Eastern Illinois University Writing Center

Deep Revision Adding and developing details and examples and support

Cutting or deleting unhelpful details or examples or support

Creating new paragraphs

Cutting whole sections

Changing overall focus and purpose of the document

Drafting a new introduction

Drafting new support paragraphs

Drafting a new conclusion

Changing your thesis/organizing idea, thereby changing the focus of the paper

Developing more examples

Creating more descriptive, concrete, and vivid details

Middle Revision Reorganization

Making a thesis more assertive or reflective of the whole paper

Adding specific and concrete details to paragraphs

Addressing the audience of the document more directly and effectively

Cutting unnecessary details

Developing greater clarity within specific sentences or passages

Editing for more sentence variety‐‐varied lengths and types of sentences

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Surface Editing Proofreading for grammatical correctness

Reconsidering the "right words" in specific sentences

Combining sentences

Cutting unnecessary words

Inserting necessary words

Proofreading Tips Always do a spelling and grammar check. However, think about each change, because Word is NOT always right! And Word will not catch all potential errors, such as correctly spelled but misused words.

Read the paper outloud.

Read the paper backwards (sentence by sentence).

Use a ruler (or piece of paper) to look at each sentence individually. This will help you avoid fragments, make sure you vary your sentence structure, and more.